To show off the graphical capabilities of its upcoming PlayStation 4 console, Sony went with two mainstays of gaming: guns and cars.

That started out with a demo from Guerrilla Games to debut its upcoming title Killzone: Shadow Fall, the latest in the popular Killzone series.

The demo, shown off during the unveiling of Sony's PlayStation 4 today, started out with a landing on top of a city high-rise that quickly becomes ground zero for an attack, and lengthy shootout with the game's baddies, the Helghast.

Of note, the demo -- which included a dramatic escape from the rooftops while clinging to a rope attached to an escaping dropship -- appeared to be real and not simply pre-rendered. Killzone 2 (an earlier game in the series) came under fire at E3 2005 for the legitimacy of the graphics in its trailer. Sony noted that the gameplay footage shown off was recorded using the PS4's new sharing feature.

Killzone's very pretty city visuals.
Sony

After the new Killzone, Sony provided a quick demo of Driveclub, a racing game designed for groups. Driveclub maker Evolution Studios said it visited car companies to get ideas for the game, which includes both real-time and asynchronous races and challenges, which can support hundreds of drivers.

Like any other racing game these days, Evolution said that its car models have been "painstakingly re-created" using its photo scanning technologies, but that the company took it one step further to pick up subtleties like a car's "microscopic" flecks of paint.

The upcoming InFAMOUS sequel.
Sony

Rounding it all out was a very brief look at InFAMOUS: Second Son by Sucker Punch Productions. Set in a future Seattle, a short demo of the PS4 exclusive showed an ultra locked down downtown having its soldiers rolled by the game's anti-authority loving protagonist.

No word yet on whether these titles will be available right at the PS4's launch.

On the third-party front, Ubisoft demoed live its upcoming Watch Dogs game made by its Ubisoft Montreal studio. Capcom and Square Enix also demoed early PS4 graphics engines called Panta Rhei, and Luminous Engine. And Square Enix's Shinji Hashimoto promised an upcoming Final Fantasy title for the platform, which it plans to unveil at this year's E3.

About the author

Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
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